November 18th, 2008
I’m it!
Carmen Hudson (aka Peopleshark), blog-tagged me a long, long, long, long time ago. At the time that it happened, I was in the middle of a couple of big projects, so I “temporarily” set it aside and in doing so I basically forgot that it had happened. I happened to come across it in my notes this weekend and realized that I should probably get this wrapped up. Being blog-tagged means that I’m supposed to tell you six random things about myself and then pass it on to some others.
The first random thing about me is that I have, just in the past couple of years developed a love for photography. And not to get sappy here, but it all goes back to my wedding (to the lovely and talented Mrs. Joe). The photographers who took our photos are so talented and so creative, and I was sincerely blown away by the job they did.
Ever since then I have been clicking away with the camera (just ask my wife and two daughters, who have to put up with flashes constantly going off in their faces).
Second random thing…I climbed my first “fourteener” this summer. We spent a week in Colorado this summer with my in-laws and my father in-law, one of my sisters in-law and I climbed Mt. Bierstadt (14,060 feet). It was a bit of a challenge, but it was amazing and the view was breathtaking, so I am hooked. We are already starting to pick our climb for next summer.
Third random thing…I am a reader. I dig books…a lot. I am basically always reading at least one book and get through about a book a week.
About 90% of what I read is non-fiction, but I do love good fiction, and I should probably make a little more time for fiction.
Fourth random thing…I also dig tattoos. Here are pictures of the two I just got this summer.
Fifth random thing…I also dig poetry. These are a few of my favorites:
In addition to reading poetry, I really enjoy attending poetry slams. Omaha has an amazing poetry scene and always sends a strong team to the national poetry slam competition. I try to get to the Omaha Healing Arts Poetry Slam as often as I can…I make it about every other month. I think that regardless of how you feel about poetry, poetry slams are incredibly entertaining.
Sixth random thing is that a long, long time ago in a far away galaxy, I was in the United States Marine Corps.
I served four years active duty and it was a powerful and life-changing experience. I am now a huge peace freak, but I will always have love for and be thankful for my days in the Corps, the experiences that I had and the people that I served with. I served from August of 1987 until August of 1991.
I attended boot camp in San Diego, California, infantry training school in North Carolina and security forces school in Virginia. I then spent a year on security force duty in Keflavik, Iceland. Leaving Iceland I was assigned to an infantry battalion in 29 Palms, California. That is where I was stationed until I left the Corps, but we didn’t spend a lot of time actually in 29 Palms. While there I spent a month in Bridgeport, CA (mountain warfare and assault climber training); a month in Thailand (infantry training with Royal Thai Marines, and then some quality time in Georgia, Utah and Florida, all part of Army Ranger School. I then travelled to Okinawa, Japan for a 6 month visit, which turned into a 9 month visit, followed by a trip to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait to participate in Desert Shield / Desert Storm. When Desert Storm was over I had a few quiet months back in 29 Palms before leaving the USMC.
So, there you have it. Six things.